Public urged to give Governor Sjachriel a chance
Public urged to give Governor Sjachriel a chance
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former South Kalimantan governor M. Said said on Friday in
Banjarmasin that the public should give Governor M. Sjachriel
Darham a chance to improve his performance, instead of demanding
that he step down.
"If he confesses his mistakes, apologizes to the public and
promises not to repeat his mistakes, I think it would be wise if
we gave him a chance, so it would not be necessary for him to
resign," Said was quoted by Antara as saying in Banjarmasin on
Friday.
Said, also a member of The Regional Autonomy Advisory Board
(DPOD), explained that he could understand that the public were
angry with the governor for his ignorance of their wishes.
He, however, said it would set a bad precedence for the next
governors if the public forced Sjahriel to step down.
"It would be hard for the next governor because he would be
forced to give up his position if he makes trivial mistakes, even
though their terms of office have yet to expire," he said.
An alliance of nongovernmental organizations, students
associations and mass organizations demanded Sjachriel, whose
term of office will end in 2005, to step down after he unveiled
his accountability speech before the South Kalimantan legislative
council recently.
They also rejected the governor's accountability speech,
saying the latter committed many errors over the last two years.
His critics slammed the governor for his controversial policy
on the Barito River project, coal mining and the province's
protected national parks.
He was much criticized for allowing coal mining to take place
inside a protected forest area near the provincial capital of
Bandjarmasin.
Said added the provincial legislature should be sensitive and
attentive to the public's wishes, because based on the rules,
only they had the right to assess the governor's performance.
Meanwhile, an analyst who requested anonymity, said it was
impossible to overthrow Sjachriel because he had gathered support
from many parties.
"It will materialize if there is a mixture of political
conspiracy and criminal charges like corruption, collusion and
nepotism (KKN)," he said.
Sjachriel will definitely be overthrown from his chair if the
criminal charges stand, according to the political and legal
analyst.
"That's why law enforcers like the police and prosecutors
should actively participate in the movement, otherwise it will
prove useless," he said.
When asked about this, Governor Sjachriel only said: "In the
realm of politics, there is no eternal friend or foe," he said.